This blog will focus on political images I have found all around the Internet, though I will intersperse some commentary and quotes that I find interesting.
George W. Bush’s gift to the American Republic may be that he has discredited a host of right-wing theories and practices – “trickle-down economics”; “self-regulating markets”; “tough-guy” foreign policy; the “imperial presidency”; and the notion that “government is the problem.”
The Washington Monthly: Jon Swift, apparently inspired by Barnes' insightful perspective, thinks there may be something to this. He has a great new list highlighting the brilliance of Bush's presidency:
- After Hurricane Katrina President Bush kept our cities safe.
- After the October 2008 stock market correction there have been no Great Depressions.
- After Iraq and Afghanistan took a turn for the worse, President Bush kept us from losing any wars.
- After the District Attorney firing scandal, the outing of Valerie Plame and other scandals, President Bush restored integrity to government.
- After divisive elections President Bush united our country.
- After Abu Ghraib, President Bush reaffirmed America's adherence to the Geneva Conventions and against torture.
- After 9/11 President Bush kept America safe from terrorist attacks on American soil.
Having promised to "sprint to the finish" of his second term and "to remain focused on the goals ahead," President Bush is "working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules" aimed at protecting workers, consumers and the environment, the Washington Post reports. "The administration wants to leave a legacy," said Gary Bass, executive director of OMB Watch, "but across the board it means less protection for the public." Indeed, the Bush administration is implementing over 90 new regulations which "would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo." The wide array of new regulations includes proposals to undercut outpatient Medicaid services, weaken the Endangered Species Act, and allow increased emissions from older power plants. In some instances, the administration has allowed federal agencies to circumvent public feedback methods by limiting the period for public comment, "not allowing e-mailed or faxed comments or scheduling public hearings." Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama, meanwhile, "have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies." The kind of regulations they are looking at are those imposed by Bush for "overtly political" reasons, said Dan Mendelson, a former associate administrator for health in the Clinton administration's Office of Management and Budget.
